Geography, Environmental Analysis, and Route Selection of Extra High Voltage Transmission Lines

Abstract

INCE the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) was passed in 1969 Americans have become increasingly aware of the need for environmental legislation that will protect the nation's resources and at the same time allow for growth in the economy, particularly in the development of potential energy resources. As our knowledge of the environment increases, we become better able to describe the environmental impact of proposed projects and to take the steps necessary to avoid or mitigate any adverse impact. In order to clarify the intent of NEPA and give federal agencies some direction for implementing the act, the Council on Environmental Quality issued a set of generalized guidelines' for the preparation of environmental impact statements. In turn, many federal agencies such as the Federal Power Commission2 and state and local governments have issued more specific guidelines that describe the important points that agencies consider in preparing environmental statements on proposed projects. If a governmental agency determines that an environmental statement must be prepared for a specific project, then the firm (applicant) proposing the project must prepare an environmental report, which includes a complete description of the proposed project, a description of the existing environment, and an assessment of the probable environmental impacts expected as a result of the project. The applicant submits the completed environmental report as an exhibit in support of a request for a construction permit to the lead agency, which then prepares a draft environmental statement. The draft is widely circulated to solicit comments from any interested agency, organization, or individual. After all comments are received and addressed, the lead agency prepares a final environmental statement. Public hearings are then held, and a board of examiners makes a decision to allow or disallow the proposed project. In this paper I deal with the preparation of environmental reports, which are usually patterned after the guidelines that the lead agency uses in preparing the draft and final environmental statements. The routing of extra high voltage (EHV)3 transmission lines is only one type of energy project that, in most cases, now requires the writing of an environmental report; and although I deal only with the environmental analysis of transmission lines, the approach described here is that used for such varied types of energy-related projects as fossil and nuclear power plants, coal gasification plants, substitute natural gas plants, strip-mining operations, and pipelines, as well as other projects that may have a major effect on the environment. Geographers can function in key roles in conducting environmental analyses. Because they possess a varied background combining training in physical subjects with training in cultural fields, they have the general understanding necessary to synthesize the findings of such specialists as geologists, hydrologists, archaeologists, pedologists, biologists, meteorologists, demographers, and engineers. This paper, therefore, serves two purposes. It describes the procedures usually implemented in preparing an environmental analysis for an EHV transmission line, and it comments on the